The Winding Stair
A beloved Irish restaurant above the bookshop of the same name, with windows over the Ha'penny Bridge and the Liffey.
The call
Worth it if you are traveling as a couple and you are traveling solo.
Why
- 01
Snug, bookish and unmistakably Dublin, with hearty modern-Irish plates and a river view at dusk.
Our read - 02
It feels like a local secret even though everyone knows it.
Our read
Is it a fit?
Go if
You are traveling as a couple
As a couple, The Winding Stair works.
You are traveling solo
Solo, The Winding Stair works.
Food is a reason to travel
For food & drink, The Winding Stair delivers.
You prefer local life to spectacle
For local authenticity, The Winding Stair delivers.
Think twice if
You are watching the budget
On a budget, weigh it — The Winding Stair isn't cheap for what it is.
You only have one day
The Winding Stair is a real time commitment — fit it in only if it's a priority.
You are traveling with kids
With kids, it depends on the day.
You are planning for two
For romance, The Winding Stair is hit or miss.
The plates that decide it
- The Winding Stair fish plate — Burren Smokehouse and Goatsbridge smoked fish, pickled herring and treacle bread — built for sharing
- The Irish seafood chowder with brown bread — whiting, haddock and leek in a creamy broth — the comfort order
- Anything you'd order anywhere — come for the Irish ingredients, not the international options
Plan it well
- Cost
- Mid-range; set lunch is good value
- Allow
- 1.5–2 hours
Sources and method (2)
- Sits above the former Winding Stair bookshop at 40 Ormond Quay Lower, overlooking the Ha'penny Bridge; named after the W.B. Yeats poem and revived as a restaurant in 2006 by Elaine Murphy. winding-stair.com ↗
- Champions seasonal Irish produce and traditional dishes (e.g. Dublin Coddle, smoked haddock in milk) from island-based artisan producers. discoverireland.ie ↗